Bushcha: OCU followers fire away evil spirit at the "consecration" of water

Hunters at the "consecration" of water in Bushcha. Photo: Facebook

The water "consecration" on the day of the Holy Theophany of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Bushcha community of the OCU in the Zdolbuniv district, Rivne region, was accompanied by single shots from hunting rifles. The corresponding video with 15 hunters shooting at the same time, was posted on Facebook and Instagram by local activists.

It turns out that this spectacular tradition has been respected in Bushcha since ancient times. As local resident Nikolai Uzhvin wrote on his page, people believe that in this way they drive away evil spirits.

“This is an ancient custom, especially in forest villages. In such a way, evil spirits are driven away. You can find this in the works of Ukrainian ethnographers,” he said.

According to the stories of Bushcha residents, it was local hunters who were the main initiators of the seizure of the temple.

As reported earlier, the community of the UOC of the village of Bushcha built a new church instead of the one taken over by OCU supporters in March 2019 with the assistance of the head of the local district state administration.

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